In
connection with the expected court hearing of the criminal case of Andrei
Haidukou on charges of high treason, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the
Human Rights Center “Viasna” consider it necessary to draw attention to the
following aspects.

The case has
received a lot of publicity both within the country and abroad. This is largely
due to the lack of information about the progress of the investigation, and the
facts of violation of the rights of the accused to have access to counsel.

Human
rights defenders expressed their concern over the fact that after Haidukou’s
lawyer was forced to sign an agreement of non-disclosure of information the
defense was denied the opportunity to publicly report on violations of the
rights of his client.

Given the
nature of the charges brought against Andrei Haidukou and the social
significance of the criminal case, as well as the excessive secrecy of
information on the progress of the investigation, we call upon the authorities
to provide for an open trial, during which all persons concerned could assess the
validity of the charges and the legality of the prosecution and the trial.